“Yeah, we’ve had a lot of time on our hands. We just thought that—he actually took about half the practice is what he did. We will go ahead and go full this week and then get back in our routine next week.”Read more…

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You won’t hear C.J. Anderson listed when most people talk about the best running backs in the league.

The 2013 undrafted rookie free agent, who broke out last season for 1,173 yards from scrimmage and a Pro Bowl appearance, isn’t itching to change people’s minds either.

“I just try to stay in my lane. We have superstars,” Anderson said after Friday’s training camp practice. “Leave (Demaryius Thomas), Emmanuel (Sanders) and Peyton (Manning) to be the stars and I’ll keep sneaking up on people.”

Anderson, a 5-foot-8, 224-pound back out of Cal, said he feels like he’s in great shape. He’s lost weight and said that he’s prepared to take on the load as the Broncos starting running back if called on.

The day the Broncos hired coach Gary Kubiak, the focus of the team’s offense turned from Peyton Manning to the running game.

Kubiak’s stretch-run, zone-blocking offense relies on a stable of effective running backs. With more play-action and the quarterback under center more, backs are known to thrive in his system.

Ravens running back Justin Forsett hadn’t totaled more than 619 rushing yards in his five NFL seasons before re-joining Kubiak in Baltimore. In 2014, Forsett ran for 1,266 yards on 235 attempts, and Baltimore’s rushing offense jumped from 30th in the league in yards per game (83.0) to eighth (126.2).

The new system has required an adjustment for the Broncos, especially Manning. But the change is a credit to what C.J. Anderson accomplished in the final eight games last season, when he racked up 767 yards on 162 carries and eight touchdowns, salvaging a rushing group that generated more frustration than yardage at the start of the season and endured numerous injuries throughout.

His performance last season may only be half of what we could see from the Broncos in 2015, though.

Montee Ball, who opened the 2014 season as the No. 1 tailback before an appendectomy and a groin injury eventually landed him on the injured reserve, believes Kubiak will use a two-back set like he has at previous coaching stops.

“With the situation right now, you got to use me and C.J. I think you have to use two backs,” Ball said Tuesday. “It’s two-back system based on what he did last season.”Read more…

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C.J. Anderson rushed for three touchdowns in the Broncos’ Week 17 victory over the Raiders. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

UPDATE: Juwan Thompson will not be available to play Sunday. Jeremy Stewart will be the third running back for the Broncos.

For the first time since C.J. Anderson’s breakout performance in Game 9 at Oakland, the Broncos will have their full complement of running backs for their divisional playoff Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

Anderson, Ronnie Hillman and Juwan Thompson will all dress to give the Broncos a one-two-three running punch against the Colts. Expect the No. 1 back, Anderson, to get the bulk of the carries.

Hillman suffered a Lisfranc foot sprain during that Nov. 9 game against Oakland and didn’t return until the season finale against the Raiders, on Dec. 28 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Thompson played every game this season until the final against the Raiders, when he rested his sore hip and knee.

The Broncos made a roster move Saturday, promoting running back Jeremy Stewart from their practice squad and waiving former Colorado State running back Kapri Bibbs.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Stewart is from Baton Rouge, La. and Stanford. He was an undrafted rookie in 2012, when he bounced between the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Oakland Raiders.

He got 25 carries for 101 yards and eight catches for 62 yards in four games with the Raiders in 2012, and had two more carries and two receptions in 2013. He was signed to the Broncos’ practice squad six weeks ago.

With both Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman out with injuries, the Broncos will use C.J. Anderson and rookie Juwan Thompson as their top two running backs Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

Kayvon Webster was limited in practice Monday. He and Ronnie Hillman became ill last Thursday, and didn’t travel home with the team from Dallas. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Running back Ronnie Hillman and cornerback Kayvon Webster were limited in the early portion of practice Monday, four days after not accompanying the team on its charter from Dallas because of an undisclosed medical issue.

Broncos coaches not named John Fox spoke to reporters at length following practice Thursday. And Adam Gase, the team’s offensive coordinator, was rather straightforward when asked about the Broncos’ running game, with their young set of backs, and how the offense has handled having to play a pair of solid defenses — Seattle last Thursday and San Francisco this coming Sunday — in their first two preseason games.

Here’s what Gase had to say:

On what he’s seen from the running game:
“For the most part, we’re a little more downhill this year. We do stretch it some but probably not as much as we were trying to last year. We’re using a little more of our gap schemes and running some power plays which has really developed a little bit different attitude for us. It makes it a little easier on our guys to say, ‘Hey, I’m just coming off the ball, and we’re going to be downhill.’”

On if the running game can help the defense:
“I think for what we’re doing right now, especially with our defense, they would say we’re probably running the ball better, and our downhill running game is probably helping them because now they’re seeing what they’re probably going to see in the regular season. I think it’s helping both sides of the ball.”

Five days since undergoing an appendectomy, Montee Ball returned to watch Broncos practice. Ball dressed out, but did not participate, spending his time on the sidelines or listening in on the huddle as plays were called. He didn’t provide a prediction on when he will return, but is making gradual progress.

“I feel good,” said Ball, whose appendix was removed on Monday night. “Right now I am getting healthy and strengthening my core, just listening to my body. Just taking it day by day step by step. When you see me back in pads, you will know I am ready.”

C.J. Anderson left the Broncos-Seahawks game in the second quarter with a concussion. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

First it was Montee Ball, the Broncos’ starting running back who was ruled out for at least the first couple of preseason games because of an appendectomy.

Now the Broncos will be without C.J. Anderson for at least some practice time in the upcoming week, per the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Anderson, No. 3 on the Broncos’ depth chart at running back, was flattened during the second quarter of the Broncos’ preseason opener against Seattle on Thursday and was held on the field while the team’s medical staff tended to him. He later walked off on on his own, but was clearly disoriented and team officials later announced that he had sustained a concussion.Read more…

Ronnie Hillman will likely start at RB for the Broncos in their preseason opener against Seattle on Thursday. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Training camp for the Broncos on Monday was consumed by the news of Montee Ball’s absence. The team’s starting running back will undergo an emergency appendectomy this afternoon and will miss at least the first couple of preseason games, including Thursday’s opener against the Seahawks at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

That means Ronnie Hillman, who had 218 yards on 55 carries in 10 games for the Broncos last season and is No. 2 on the depth chart, will likely start against Seattle.

“I think he’s been a different guy in the meeting rooms with a full offseason this year and attacking it the way he did,” coach John Fox said Monday. “He is starting to see the benefits of that here on the field. I have seen a drastically improved player.”Read more…

The Press Box on Monday morning found time to touch on the Broncos’ situation at running back. With Knowshon Moreno signing with the Miami Dolphins in March after five seasons in Denver, Montee Ball enters his second NFL season as Denver’s starting running back — for now.

“Will Montee Ball be able to replace Knowshon Moreno?” asked Denver Post columnist Mark Kiszla. The Press Box team of Kiszla, Peter Burns and Oren Lomena discussed the matter as well as the appearance by Ball — a former star with the Wisconsin Badgers — at the Final Four wearing … a frog suit?

RENTON, WASH. — Athletes have been looking for an edge for years. The Seahawks have roughly 25 players undergoing a sleep study to help them get better rest for the Super Bowl, for heaven’s sake.

Of course they have Skittles in the Seahawks’ lobby. Marshawn Lynch can’t eat them all. (Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post)

But perhaps no player on their team draws attention for his, um, athletic diet like Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. He’s made #beastmode a common term with his bone-crunching runs through secondaries. Seattle fans greet his touchdown runs by making it rain Skittles. Lynch told a local reporter he wasn’t sure if he’s ever seen more than last Sunday, but “they are everywhere.”

So why does Lynch eat Skittles? He told NFL Japan that he began eating the candies during his youth football days in Oakland. His mom gave them to him to settle his stomach. Science doesn’t necessarily support this treatment — though kids everywhere will gladly offer objections — but it works for Lynch. He said he keeps the Skittles in the trainer’s kit with tape, aspirins, etc.

There will be plenty available in New Jersey for the game. For all the talk about Richard Sherman, it is shocking that Lynch isn’t on a national Skittles commercial.

Running back Knowshon Moreno breaks into the secondary against the Houston Texans on Dec. 22, 2013, in Houston, Texas. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

There was so much going on with Peyton Manning’s single-season touchdown pass record and Eric Decker giving the Broncos a record five players to score at least 10 touchdowns that Knowshon Moreno’s first 1,000-yard season got overlooked.

During the Broncos’ 37-13 win Sunday at Houston, Moreno crossed the 1,000-yard milestone with an 18-yard run on the first play after Mike Adams’ momentum-turning fourth quarter interception. On the play after Moreno’s run, Manning threw his 49th touchdown pass with a 10-yard strike to Decker.

Moreno now has 1,015 yards rushing for the season, one of 11 NFL running backs to reach the milestone. It’s a remarkable accomplishment for Moreno considering the adversity he’s overcome through the first four seasons of his career.

The Broncos announced Friday that they’ve selected running back Knowshon Moreno as their 2013 Ed Block Courage Award winner. Running backs coach Eric Studesville will also be recognized by the Ed Block Courage Foundation for overcoming personal adversity.

The Ed Block Courage Award is given to players who exemplify commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. Moreno, after tearing his ACL in 2011 and injuring his knee in the Broncos’ lone playoff game last season, has rebounded from his injuries to start all 12 games for the Broncos in 2013. On the season, he has 202 rushes for 842 yards and nine rushing touchdowns along with 42 catches for 414 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Montee Ball celebrates after making a long run against the Chiefs Sunday. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

This question comes from @Samfredable on Twitter, and it’s particularly relevant after Montee Ball’s 30-carry, 117-yard afternoon Sunday against the Chiefs. On a day when Knowshon Moreno was less effective — or just exhausted from his 37 carries against the Patriots — Ball stepped up, providing the best performance from a Broncos running back not named Knowshon all season.

@JoanNiesen How does the coaching staff feel Montee Ball has improved this season?

Talking to coaches throughout the season about the running back situation (mess?) has been interesting. They know they have talent, but the group is just so young, which leads to the problems the Broncos have faced this season. Even so, it doesn’t seem like the coaching staff has given up on anyone — Hillman being active Sunday proves that — even though it believes most in Moreno.

Ball, though, seems to be pulling up second in his coaches’ trust. It’s not so much that he’s improving, but rather that he’s getting over his early struggles. Fumbles and turnovers will stick with players, but coaches recently have lauded Ball for moving past his mistakes and not letting them get to him.

“Montee was a real pro all week last week,” Jack Del Rio said after Sunday’s game. “He was disappointed in the fumble he had last week, but he had a good week at practice. He came in ready to play and had a good game today against the Chiefs. That’s part of being a pro, putting last weeks game behind you and learning from it. It’s not easy to do.”

Of course, every rookie has to adjust to the NFL — the competition, the pace, etc. — but with Ball, what seems to be more important is his outlook, that he’s not getting bogged down in the rough start to his pro career.

Montee Ball fumbles in the third quarter of the Broncos game against the Patriots on November 24. (Jared Wickerham, Getty Images)

Monday night, as I was doing research for my story about the Broncos’ running backs and what on earth is going on on the depth chart behind Knowshon Moreno, I started looking at fumble numbers. The way we talk about Ronnie Hillman, Montee Ball and C.J. Anderson, you’d think they’d committed eight fumbles apiece by this point in the season. But see, they haven’t. Hillman has two, Ball two, and Anderson fumbled and recovered the ball in New England.

My first thought was that it doesn’t sound so terrible.

Then I looked at the numbers.

You see, Ball has just 75 carries, Hillman 40, Anderson seven. That’s good for 41st among all running backs in the NFL, 65th and tied for 106th, respectively. The gist: these guys aren’t getting many carries, but they’re still up there among the worst fumblers in the league.

On Sunday, ESPN’s Skip Bayless tweeted about Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno’s big game; Moreno finished the afternoon with 93 yards and a touchdown. Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, who played against the Broncos last week, elaborated on Bayless’s remarks with a comment of his own from his Twitter account, @CutOnDime25:

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.